Trending

Martin Keown slams West Ham over farcical crowd trouble

Martin Keown has slammed West Ham for their “farcical” security during West Ham’s fixture against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

Slaven Bilic’s side won the EFL Cup clash 2-1 at the London Stadium, but the local derby was overshadowed by crowd trouble between both sets of supporters.

The Hammers moved into their new stadium this season, after leaving their iconic Boleyn ground last term, but the east London club have had trouble settling in.

Former Arsenal defender Keown was critical of those in charge at the former Olympic Stadium, and the outspoken TV pundit did not hold back on his criticism.

“I just feel that in this day and age it’s farcical that people can’t organise security at a football match,” Keown told the Daily Mail. “There have been enough warnings in recent weeks that something could happen. There is a duty of care to the fans.

“We were hoping all of these things had disappeared from the game. I was in that stadium during the Olympics. There was a unique atmosphere and I just hope incidents like this don’t tarnish the ground.”

On the pitch West Ham have picked up three wins on the bounce in all competitions, despite being in the relegation zone after six league fixtures.

Since their recent revival, the Hammers have moved to 15th in the table, with ten points from their opening nine games.

Bilic’s side travel to Ronald Koeman’s out-of-form Everton on Saturday afternoon, as they look to continue their good form.